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Monday • August 29, 1994
THE
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BATTALION
Page 1 • Section C
Gonna 9 go downto
Bryan area merchants want to attract more
students by promoting downtown's novelty
By Christi Erwin
The Battalion
The historic appearance of
Main Street in downtown Bryan
has not changed much since the
early 1900s, but it has shifted
from the only place for A&M stu
dents to shop to one of the many
in Bryan-College Station.
In response to the competition,
merchants formed the Downtown
Merchant and Business Associa
tion last year to encourage growth
by promoting the uniqueness of
the downtown area.
Buck Buchanan, owner of Cor
ner of Time antique store and
founder of the Downtown Mer
chant and Business Association,
said Texas A&M students, faculty
and visitors can help make down
town Bryan the prosperous busi
ness area it once was.
Stew Nlilne/THE Battalion
One of the many businesses in Bryan’s downtown district.
He said he heard a story that
before the shops in College Sta
tion were built, the downtown
area became so congested with
students that the Bryan mer
chants fired a cannon to scare the
students away.
But now Bryan merchants
want the students back, he said.
Buchanan said he realized
many students did not know that
downtown Bryan existed two
years ago when he put an adver
tisement in The Battalion and
students called asking where
downtown Bryan was located.
“The entertainment, shopping
and food are enough to attract
students,” he said. “They just
need to know we’re out here.”
He said the uniqueness of the
downtown area will also attract
people.
“Malls are nice,” he said. “But
no indoor place will be able to
capture the downtown atmos
phere.”
Mary Bryant, the current head
of the Downtown Merchant and
Business Association and owner
of Bry-Mac antiques, said she
agrees that students and faculty
are important to the growth of the
downtown area.
“A large part of my clientele
are students,” she said. “Stu
dents are also attracted to our va
riety of restaurants and music
clubs, Stafford Opera House and
3rd Floor Cantina.”
Bryant said the Downtown
Business and Merchant Associa
tion tries to attract businesses to
the downtown area, and there
Stew Milne/THE Battalion
The comer of Main and William Joel Bryan stands in the middle of the Bryan downtown area.
will be several new businesses
opening soon in downtown Bryan
to attract students.
These include a music store
which will sell instruments, a
Subway sandwich store, several
decorating stores and a micro
brewery, she said.
Also, the city is revitalizing the
downtown area by renovating the
Palace Theater as an outside am
phitheater, renovating the
Carnegie library and building a
garden next door to the library.
Bryant said people are attract
ed to the downtown area because
the shops are unique.
Carolyn Catalena, owner of
Catalena Hatters, said specialty
stores are successful in downtown
Bryan because they are an alter
native place to shop and offer
gifts that consumers cannot find
on every comer.
She said men especially enjoy
the downtown area because they
do not have to enter a mall to do
their shopping.
“I think men prefer the down
town environment,” Catalena
said. “Most men are not keyed up
for the mall.”
Bryant said in addition to at
tracting unique businesses, the
Downtown Merchant and Busi
ness Association is planning ac
tivities to increase public aware
ness of the downtown area.
“We want people to know that
we are alive and going strong,”
she said.
Future public awareness activ
ities include Festifall in October
and Christmas festivities, she
said.
Festifall is a promotion by the
Arts Council of Brazos Valley that
offers arts and crafts booths, mu
sic and food. The Christmas ac
tivities include store decorations
and a parade, she said.
“In the future, people will be
more aware of the downtown
area,” Bryant said.
Shannon Lee, the assistant
manager of the Main Street Pro
ject, said they also are planning
promotions to promote public
awareness.
These activities include Boot
Scootin’ Boogie on Main Street in
September, outdoor concerts
every Thursday in October at the
Bryan library, Mardi Gras Brazos
style and a Cinco de Mayo cele
bration, she said.
Freshmen can suffer culture shock
College life can leave new students
with more freedoms, responsibilities
- By Margaret Claughton
Twe Battalion
Weed out classes, campus food,
minute dorm rooms and monstrous
class loads. Every fall at Texas A&M,
thousands of unsuspecting freshmen
plummet into the alien realm of college
life .
Depending on their individual back
grounds, some students may adjust
quicker than others. But according to
: Murray Milford, the associate head of
Agronomy and veteran of the A&M
; Mentors Program, freshman “culture
I shock” is a part of every student’s col
lege career.
A&M Mentors are volunteer faculty
I members who offer their time to any
1 student in need of guidance. Milford
I has been with the program since it be-
Sgan in the ‘70s and said most of the
(freshmen he’s dealt with have been af-
Jfected by the change in one way or an-
I other.
“Basically, for any freshman, coming
[from being the biggest thing on cam-
Ipus in high school to the bottom of the
jladder in college is a big transition,”
[Milford said. “They face all kinds of
[uncertainties.”
Milford said these uncertainties
[vary with each freshman’s background
[and degree of maturity.
“It (culture shock) expresses itself in
different ways,” he said. '“How the
freshmen adjust is a function of how
secure they are in themselves.”
Betty Milbum, associate director of
the A&M Mentors program, said sever
al elements play on a freshman’s inse
curities causing them to have in
creased difficulty adjusting to college.
“There are several subtle traps
freshmen can get into,” she said. “The
fact that homework is optional in col
lege unlike high school starts a lot of
them putting things off. I would ad
vise them not to get too far behind. It’s
almost impossible to catch up after a
certain point.”
Milburn said homesickness is anoth
er trap.
“We see a lot of homesickness, par
ticularly if that freshman has left a
girlfriend or boyfriend behind,” she
said. “They think they can solve it by
going home every weekend, which I ad
vise against.”
By leaving every weekend, Milbum
said freshmen prevent themselves from
meeting new people and finding their
niche.
Milford stressed the importance of
living on campus for incoming fresh
man.
“Dorm living almost forces a person
to associate. Therefore, they become
more acquainted and learn how to in
teract,” he said. “They’re kind of
Photo Illustration by Stew Milne/THE Battalion
Homesickness is one of the problems that freshmen face when they leave home.
thrown into association by proximity.”
Milford said freshmen should join
clubs and become involved in campus
activities in order to ease the adjust
ment process.
“It is very important to become a
part of a small group of peers early
on,” he said. “Fish camp is a great
start. But there are hundreds of differ
ent clubs on campus for the student to
get involved in.”
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Photo Illustration by Stew Milne/THE Battalion
Some freshmen have trouble handling all of the freedom they are given in college.
Involvement, Milford said, is even
more important now than it was in the
past. He said students are less mature
now and don’t adjust as well.
“We see this reflected in lack of at
tendance, withdrawals and non-partici
pation in the classroom,” he said. “The
student’s ability is as great as it has
ever been. But the level of perfor
mance is not as great as it was 25
years ago.”
Students, Milburn said, will adjust
better if they know about all the re
sources A&M offers.
“It’s really important to be aware of
the resources available,” she said. “The
size of A&M can be a difficult thing to
adjust to. But there are lots of places
that provide support.”
One of the goals of the mentors pro
gram is to help direct students in find
ing the help they need.
“ They (mentors) are familiar with
the services on campus and can either
help the student themselves or get the
student to the right place,” she said.
Milford said mentors are willing to
talk to any student about anything.
“By coming to a mentor,” he said,
“students will know that this person
will give them some time and not shove
them out of their office because they’re
too busy. If we can’t help, we can refer
students to other services in the com
munity or on campus.”
The FACT program, Milburn said, is
another group designed to help stu
dents adjust to college life.
Members of this program call and
check on freshmen after the beginning
of the fall semester. Milbum said the
program tries to contact every fresh
man and help them with any problems
they have developed.
The Student Counseling Center and
the Center for Academic Enhancement
are two more services any student can
turn to for guidance.
“A&M is a big place and a lot of peo
ple feel like a number when they first
come,” she said. “But there are a num
ber of services and people that are con
cerned and willing to provide support.”
Center offering
pointers on good
study methods
By Margaret Claughton
The Battalion
Though most students have few
difficulties attending football games
or mastering the art of beer drinking,
making decent grades can sometimes
present a problem.
A student’s low academic scores
can be caused by anything from test
anxiety to less than favorable study
skills according to Avonda Fessler, a
lecturer for Texas A&M University’s
Center for Academic Enhancement
(CAE). Fessler said for many stu
dents, particularly freshmen, acade
mic problems lay in their study skills
or lack thereof.
“I think the initial anxiety for
freshmen is not knowing how to
study,” she said. “A lot of freshmen
never had to study in high school so
they don’t have the skills for college.”
Fessler said if a student is having
difficulty with a specific class there
are several steps he or she can take
to remedy the situation.
First, the student must make a list
of all he or she does to study for that
particular course. It the list is blank,
she said, then that’s the problem.
“You must be completely honest
with yourself when making the list,”
she said. “Don’t write that you read
the chapter unless you really read it.”
If the student has been reading
the chapters and studying but is still
having trouble, Fessler said he or she
should talk to their professor.
“It’s wise to talk to your prof even
before the trouble begins,” she said.
“Ask them what their strategy would
be for studying for that course. After
all, they’re the ones that make the
tests.”
If the student continues to have
trouble, Fessler advised them to visit
the Center for Academic Enhance
ment. Fessler said the center’s lectur
ers can provide tips in note taking,
test taking and reading methods.
Texas A&M offers a number of
services that help students figure out
what their academic problems are
and learn the necessary skills to over
come them.
The Center for Academic En
hancement (CAE) is one such service
which offers several resources to help
students improve their academic
standing. “Making the Grade” work
shops, sponsored by the CAE, ad
dress problems college students com
monly encounter. Lecture topics in
clude college reading, note taking,
test anxiety, stress management,
time management and overcoming
math anxiety.
Organizations can schedule these
workshops by calling the CAE at 845-
2724. The CAE also offers a learning
assistance center in 244 Blocker .
Free tutoring is provided for reading,
writing, math and study skills. Stu
dents can receive assistance with cur
rent assignments as well as overall
study tips.